The Advanced Light Microscopy Facility (ALMF) offers a collection of state-of-the-art light microscopy equipment and image processing tools. The facility was set up as a cooperation between EMBL and industry to improve communication between users and producers of high-end microscopy technology and to support in-house scientists and visitors in using light microscopy methods for their research. The ALMF also organises regular international courses to teach advanced light microscopy methods.

More than 30 visitors per year come to carry out their own experiments in the ALMF or to evaluate microscopy equipment.

The ALMF was the seed for the European Light Microscopy Initiative (ELMI) that establishes links with facilities throughout Europe.

Usage of the facility has exceeded 30,000 hours per year. In the context of Tara Oceans, Rainer Pepperkok will apply the use of high content light microscopy techniques to the quantitative analysis of microplankton organisms and further develop this tool to allow the establishment of correlation between species identification at the genomics and and morphologic level in collaboration with other members of Tara Oceans.